Poison
by writeallnight
Summary: Who knew a few crabs could be so deadly? The events of 1x07 "Rescue Me" from Buffer, Swain, and Spider's points of view.
1. Buffer

A/N: Hello Sea Patrol fandom! I discovered this show at the end of last summer and holy cow, WHAT A TREASURE. I'm completely in love. I've already watched multiple times. These are such great characters and there is so much gratuitous whump and I am HERE FOR IT. I've also noticed a serious lack of fanfic so I thought I would help. Please enjoy some insights from 1x07 "Rescue Me."

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It had started out as a few stomach cramps. Nothing terrible, nothing he couldn't handle. He'd hardly even noticed at first. The junior seaman were like children, they needed constant supervision which meant there was always work to be done and he didn't give much thought to his own needs until he was lying in his rack at night.

But a particularly painful clench stole his breath away as he walked toward the stern and gave him pause. He winced, putting a hand to his stomach and then rolled his eyes. Spider and his stupid crabs. It was a wonder they weren't all heaving their lunches over the side.

He made it to the stern and began working on the coil that had been giving them trouble. "All right there Buff?" Nikki asked as she wandered toward him.

He smiled. "Yeah I'm all right Nav."

"Brought you a brew if you want it." She offered him the mug but the thought of it turned his stomach. "Think I'll pass this time," he told her.

"All right then. Don't blame me if you fall asleep while working," she said cheekily and moved on.

Ten minutes later he wished she'd stayed. His tongue and lips were tingling and his vision swam a bit. Dehydration could be a bitch on a ship but he was usually pretty on top of things like that.

He wrapped up his work and headed to his rack. He had first watch so an early turn in was in order. Charge was absent from the room, probably up on deck practicing his golf or something and Peter found himself grateful. He didn't feel up to a conversation. His head had begun to ache on top of everything else. He considered tracking down the Swain but decided to muscle through it instead.

He stripped off his shirt, damp with sweat, and was about to climb into his bunk when a knife-like pain stabbed through his gut, nearly doubling him over. It stole their air from his lungs and he had to grip the bunk to keep himself upright. Maybe a trip to see Swain wasn't a terrible idea.

What had been merely uncomfortable moments before was now nearing unbearable. He stumbled into the hallway, his knees weak, and knocked on Swain's door. It opened and Chris stuck his head out. "Hey there Buff."

"Swaino, I'm not feeling right," he managed, as the world began to swim before his eyes.

Swain frowned at him. "What's wrong?"

"I—I don't—" he knees gave out and Swain had to catch him.

"Whoa all right just come in here and have a lie down yeah?"

Swain got an arm under his shoulder and pulled him along toward the junior sailor's mess, easing him onto one of the benches. God it felt good to lie down. "Can you tell me what's going on?" Swain asked as he opened the med kit and pulled out a stethoscope.

"Um," Peter swallowed and tried to focus. "My chest is really tight. And there's tingling in my mouth, my hands."

"And when did this start?"

"I don't know, like an hour or so I guess."

"Swaino!"

They looked up to see ET dragging Alex, one of the junior seaman coming into the room. "He's sick or something Swain," ET said, helping the new man lie down.

"Yeah he's running a fever too. Buff have you had an upset stomach?"

Peter closed his eyes trying to think around the pain. "No, it's like knives though."

Swain was starting to look really concerned. "ET, go get Cheffo for me will you? Alex when did you start feeling sick?"

The junior seaman reported similar symptoms and seemed to be taking it slightly worse than Buffer was. Charge poked his head in. "All right Swaino?" he asked.

"Charge, get me some blankets and then radio the captain."

Peter put a hand to his head and then curled in pain as another knife sliced through his abdomen. "Buff, you all right?" Swain asked.

Peter gritted his teeth. "Yeah take care of Alex."

Charge returned with the blankets and then ET dragged a very ill looking Spider into the room and laid him out on the floor. Despite how awful he felt Peter could immediately see that Spider was in a worse way. "Spider," he said.

"Buff," Spider's voice was faint. "Buff my stomach."

"Hang in there Spid," Peter said, but his words weren't enough.

He lay there helplessly as Spider's body seized. It took both Swain and Cheffo to hold him down and keep him from injuring himself. When the jerking finally ceased Spider's head lolled to the side and he wouldn't wake up no matter how Swain tried. "Boss we've got to get them to a hospital," Swain's words were tight with fear, Peter could hear it in his voice.

"We've set course for home and we'll get there as fast we can," Mike said. "They'll have medical staff waiting at the dock."

That was all Peter heard for awhile. His chest was growing increasingly tight and he found himself drifting restlessly in and out of consciousness. He was somewhat aware that Spider had started seizing again and he could hear Alex's breathing, labored and loud, from across the small room.

He had no idea how long it was before they docked, only that he'd never felt so ill in his life. "All right we're going to get you boys out of here," Swain finally said.

"Take Spider and Alex first," Peter said faintly. His eyes would only half open, but he was determined to see the juniors taken care of.

"All right," Swain said, putting a hand briefly on his shoulder.

Spider was taken out first and then Alex on a stretcher. "All right Buff, your turn," Swain said as they laid out another stretcher.

"I can walk," Peter said immediately, struggling to sit up. He gasped and wanted to cry like a baby when pain stabbed at him.

"No way Pete." He wasn't sure when his boss had come into the room but the way he was looking left no room for argument.

Peter allowed himself to be lifted onto the stretcher. The small corner of his brain that had any energy left for something beyond staying alive realized how incredibly humiliating this was. They passed Nikki on the deck and she grabbed his hand briefly, squeezing it for support.

When he woke again he was at the hospital having missed the ambulance ride completely. He supposed he must have passed out. Despite several tubes, which he assumed were administering meds, he didn't feel better at all. In fact he felt worse. Where the ship had seemed too hot now he felt too cold. His body shivered despite the sheen of sweat on his forehead. "How're you doing Buff?"

Mike was standing by his bedside. Beyond his CO he could see Spider and Alex, their bodies incredibly still. "How're they?" he managed to croak out.

"Well it seems like you'll all live," Mike said. "You gave us all a bit of a fright though."

"Anybody else sick?"

"No, just the three of you."

His head was throbbing fiercely but he needed to have this conversation. "What is it Boss?"

Mike took a breath. "It seems the three of you were poisoned. It was the crabs Spider got from the island."

Peter stared at him. "Poisoned? You're joking."

"I'm afraid not. That's all the information I have right now, but as soon as we know anything more I'll pass it along." He put a hand on Buffer's shoulder. "You rest up. Get your strength back. We'll have you back on board in no time."

Peter watched him go, wishing he had the strength to follow. He'd long ago come to terms with all the ways one could die in the Navy, but poison had never crossed his mind.

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A/N: More to come soon! Leave your love in the reviews!


	2. Swain

A/N: I couldn't write this fic without including Swain's point of view! I can only imagine how awful he must have felt and I've tried to put it all in here. Enjoy!

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He couldn't lose another shipmate. Chris held Spider down, doing his best to keep him from slamming his head into something as his body jerked to and fro, and felt his own gut tighten in fear. Whatever the hell this was, it was bad. And this ship could not lose someone again, not so soon after Jaffa.

Guilt over the young sailor's death had been eating away at him in the weeks since. He'd seen the counselor, he'd read the autopsy report, but none of that had taken away the feeling that he could have done something more. It didn't matter that Jaffa's death was a freak accident; he was the medical liaison on ship. These people were his responsibility.

"Somebody get me some pillows!" he yelled as he and Cheffo hung unto Spider for dear life. It took several long minutes for the seizure to subside and Spider's body to go slack. Chris immediately checked his breathing and pulse. He seemed to be wheezing a bit. So were Peter and Alex.

When ET had returned with pillows in hand Chris arranged them around Spider in case of another attack and left ET with strict instructions to stay with Spider while Cheffo checked on Alex and Peter.

Mike was waiting for him in the hallway. "I don't know what this is," Chris said. "But if it's fast acting or a bio-weapon of some kind…"

"Then we're all in trouble," Mike finished for him.

"We'll need to check with the entire crew, see if anyone else is experiencing symptoms."

"I've sent Charge to do just that. If you've got everything under control here I'll go and join him."

Chris nodded and Mike went on his way. Chris rejoined the men, his gaze falling on Spider's pale face. Even unconscious his face was taught, as if he were in pain. He was sweating but his skin was cool and clammy to the touch so there was no fever. "What the hell is this?" ET asked.

Swain shook his head. "I don't know."

He shifted his gaze to Buffer whose eyes had closed. His arm dangled limply toward the floor. "Buffer," he said to no response. "Buff, hey, look at me!"

He moved closer and could hear the man's breath rattling, shallow and tight. "Buffer!" he shook him.

He moved his head a bit and moaned but didn't regain consciousness. "How's Alex?" he asked Cheffo.

He shook his head worriedly. "His breathing's not good Swain."

Swain grabbed the radio. "Nav any word on when we'll make home port?" he asked.

Her voice came back over the line sounding tense. She was worried. "Approximately one hour."

An hour. He had an hour to keep these three men alive. Possibly more if anyone else started exhibiting symptoms. He looked at ET. "You're feeling all right?"

"Yeah mate, yeah I'm fine," he said.

"Cheffo?"

The man's eyes looked troubled. "You don't think…could it have been something I fed them?"

Swain wanted to tell the man no. In fact if no one else sickened it was unlikely to have been his cooking. But no one had left the ship all day except to rescue the girl and they had to follow the most logical reasoning. "I don't know mate. I doubt it though."

It didn't seem to reassure him but they didn't have time to talk about it further because Spider made a choking sound and began seizing again. Swain's heart felt like it was in his stomach as he gripped Spider's shoulders. "What do you need?" Mike asked as he reappeared in the doorway.

"To be at a hospital," Swain said grimly.

"We're going as fast as we can."

"Then maybe some more blankets. Honestly, I don't know," he said despairingly. "I'm not a doctor. They need better care than I can give them here."

"Do your best."

"Anyone else showing symptoms?"

Mike shook his head and Swain felt the tiniest bit of relief. "Everyone else seems fine with strict instructions to report to you with any kind of symptoms. We'll hope that whatever this is it's limited to these three."

Even if it was, it was still too many. Swain felt his resources being stretched thin, even with Cheffo's help. They were going to need a miracle to get everyone home alive.

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A/N: Leave your love in the reviews!


	3. Spider

A/N: It wouldn't be complete without a chapter on Spider! I cannot even tell you how many times I've watched the part where he collapses on the bridge. It's SO GOOD GUYS. Gives me all the whumperflies! Enjoy!

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He'd been trying to catch a bit of sleep. He was due on the bridge tonight and he'd learned his lesson about falling asleep on watch. Never again would he be responsible for any nonsense that occurred while he was sleeping on the job.

Sleep seemed hard to come by right now though. His hands were tingling weirdly and so was his tongue. He felt strangely lethargic.

"Spider! Are you coming?" Nikki stopped next to his bunk, pulling him out of his uncomfortable stupor.

"Um, yeah," he said, sitting up and sliding his legs toward the floor.

"Well come on then. If you're late again the X is going to have your head for sure."

She gave him a good-natured shove and moved past him toward the ladder. He put a hand to his head and rubbed at his temples. Maybe he was coming down with something.

That was when the first stomach pain stabbed through his gut. His breath caught and he let out a pained grunt. It was unlike any stomach pain he'd ever had before, like someone had driven a knife directly through him. It ebbed slowly but he could still feel the echoes of it.

He rubbed the spot it had occurred and then slid all the way down from his bunk. Nav was right, he couldn't be late again when there was work to be done.

By the time he got to the bridge he was sweating and breathing hard. He slipped into his seat, avoiding the eyes of everyone else in the room. Buffer was going to take him to task for being so out of shape. Served him right for laying off of exercises this morning.

But as he sat in the chair his breathing didn't ease. In fact his chest felt even tighter and another pain stabbed at his stomach. His mind went back to Cheffo's squid and he swallowed hard. He never should have eaten so much of it, especially when Cheffo hadn't been particularly specific about where it had come from.

He could hear the X and Nav talking, heard his boss chastising her for something, but his vision was getting fuzzy. There was a sudden squeezing feeling and breathing became almost impossible. "Spider pay attention!"

He heard his boss's words but he couldn't keep his head up any longer. Pain ripped through his abdomen, crippling him and he put his head down, desperate to alleviate it in any way possible. "Spider! Spider talk to me!" Mike commanded.

He felt hands on him, pulling him back into the seat. "I-I can't breathe," he gasped before doubling over in pain once more.

Someone was pulling him from his seat, ET he realized, and he moaned in pain as he was jostled around. "Come on Spider, you can do it. Come on," the man encouraged.

But he couldn't. His legs wouldn't hold him up any longer. Someone got on his other side, Mike, and they practically carried him down to the mess. Everything hurt, god why did everything hurt so much?

Even when they laid him down on the floor the pain didn't stop. Suddenly his chest tightened violently and he knew this was it. He was going to die on the floor of the junior seamen's mess from eating questionable squid. His mum would never forgive him.

When he was awake he barely aware of anything but pain. There was the occasional recognition of a voice, the pull and tug of people moving his body around, the stab of needles into his flesh.

When he opened his eyes everything was white. It took several minutes to realize he was in the hospital. His whole body ached and his stomach, while better, was still sending sharp pangs of reminder every few seconds that it was happy. He moaned and put a hand to his head. "Hey there," a familiar gravelly voice said.

He managed to turn his head to the right and found Buffer in the bed next to his. "Buff?" he croaked. "You too? What…?"

"And Alex. Poisoned," Buffer said.

"Was it the squid?" Billy asked.

"Not food poisoning Spid. Poison, poison."

That didn't seem to compute in Spider's muddled brain. "What like…chemicals or something?"

"More like a…." Buffer struggled for words, "they said like a toxin. Like it was put there on purpose."

"Somebody poisoned us?" Spider tried to let that sink in. "Why?"

"Your guess is as good as mine."

"Oh god," Spider felt his stomach twist painfully. "Are we dying?"

"Nah. Docs have got us on some good stuff. Should be out of our systems by tomorrow. Full recovery in twenty-four hours."

It seemed slightly unbelievable to Spider that twenty-four hours would take care of the agony in his body, but Buffer would never lie to him about something like this. "Is anybody else sick?"

Buffer shook his head. "Just us three."

"Then where…" the truth hit him in the face. "The crabs."

"That's what the boss said."

Spider felt even sicker. "But Buff, I…"

"It's not your fault. You didn't know."

That was true. He couldn't have known that a bag of crabs would wreak havoc upon the ship. But he would definitely be more wary of accepting food from strangers in the future.

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A/N: Thanks for all your love and reviews! So glad you've enjoyed this little fic!


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